Lockdown
by Georgasaurus
Summary: Thirty years ago, thirteen teenagers stumbled across an abandoned, underground facility, but only one escaped the manual lockdown. Now, in 2008, the lockdown has been broken, and Danny must return to stop the vicious entities within for good.


**Prologue**

Brit scrunched up into a tight ball, holding the flickering lighter as close to her chest as she could without burning herself. It was running out of gas quickly, and terror surged through her body as the little flame began to dim, struggling to remain in existence, to comfort the girl. She shook violently as the fire gave one last splutter, and then went out, plunging her into darkness. She would have sobbed, had a strange shrieking noise in the distance not sounded at that precise moment.

The light had been leading them to her!

Brit dropped the useless lighter onto the floor, letting it clatter away into the deep black, and pushed her sweat-ridden hair out of her face and shivered, as her skimpy vest top and filthy, wet jeans offering no protection from the cold. Hearing the growls beginning to get closer, the girl scrambled to her hands and knees, and frantically crawled away as fast as she could down a nearby vent.

Her skin stuck to the cold metal as she moved along, whilst her breath was harsh, drifting gently away as steam from her trembling lips. She shivered, and then cried out loudly as a protruding, sharp piece of metal sliced through her flesh, splattering blood on the ground in a gory pattern. For a heart-stopping moment, there was silence, and Brit dared to believe that they had not heard her. Then the all too familiar screams rang throughout the complex, and she knew they had detected her presence. Abandoning all attempts at stealth and secrecy, the teen scurried away, reaching an open area to stand in, and then sprinting as fast as her legs would carry her. The clangs and scrapes of claws on steel banged about above her, and then an almighty crash sounded as they broke through from the ceiling above, hitting the floor and then getting up again, the great fall barely seeming to affect them.

Yet Brit could see the door that was the exit, and it was just within her reach. She flung herself forward, meaning to smash straight through it, but instead thudded dully against the door, bruising her arm as she went. For a moment, she didn't register the throbbing pain as she frantically banged the exit again, before noticing the flashing sign right in front of her.

_Lockdown._

It hadn't been a bluff. He had really meant it.

And they had left her behind.

* * *

Harry put his foot down on the gas pedal, forcing the pickup truck to go faster along the bumpy road. He heard the yells of his friends in the back and grinned, his black hair whipping about face.

"Careful!" yelled Candi from the back of the truck, her light brown hair now a mess, her green eyes flashing dangerously at him. Harry glanced at his friends from the mirror above him, and then slowed down. They were all looking quite grumpy thanks to his little stunt.

They'd cheer up soon enough, as they'd all chipped together to go on this little trip, the twelve of them. Harry was surprised Brit had helped though. She had only just moved from England, and was a newcomer amongst their group. He looked through the mirror again, studying each of his friends.

There was Red, the tall, gangly one, with blue eyes and a crop of messy red hair. His real name was Ford Taylor, and he liked to joke about a lot, forever pulling pranks. He had once pulled an April Fools prank so ingenious that it had become famous at their school. Red had snuck into school early one morning with countless packets of plastic cups, and then filled them one at a time to the brim with water, before placing it in an exact location on one of the classrooms. By the time Red had finished, every surface in the classroom, from the desks, to the chairs, and even the floor, was completely covered by plastic cups of water. The teachers, although irritated by it, had been so impressed by Red's commitment that they didn't punish him, but instead forced the regular detention students to clean it up at the end of the day.

Red flicked an elastic band in the direction of Gary, hitting him in the ear. The boy scowled at the joker and rubbed the spot where the band had hit, clearly displeased by Red's lopsided grin.

Gary and Joe, the Cooper twins, both with brown hair, brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin were picking up the playing cards they had dropped when the truck jolted. They tended to stick together, but were nice guys on the whole. They generally preferred each other's company, but Joe, the more outspoken of the brothers, was Harry's Chemistry partner, and had proven to be fun to talk to, if a little hard to get into a conversation with. Gary was even more reserved than Joe, not usually speaking unless spoken to, and going bright red every time someone talked to him. However, once he got talking, it took a while for him to stop, too.

Danny Lowe was the true quiet one of the group, and could have been classed as a bit of a loner if he didn't hang round with them so much. Sharp and sarcastic, he often got away with being a jerk to people, because most didn't know what to say back. While a complete pain in the ass, he also kept others away that might cause a problem for the group with his scathing tongue. That was pretty much the only reason the gang put up with him. Keep him happy and he'd go out of his way to humiliate your enemies, but piss him off and he'd humiliate you instead. He had brown hair, too, but it was so dark that it looked black. His green eyes were surly, and he stared at the scenery dully, ignoring everyone around him.

Ashley Ecker sat with Yessir discussing a school project that wasn't due for another two months. Harry laughed to himself. They were such _nerds_, hence why Robbie Granger was always called Yessir. He was a teacher's pet, and proud of it, although his grades were below average. He tried at school, but wasn't that bright. He scratched his short, dirty-blonde hair, and looked at Harry with widened blue eyes. Ashley herself was the smartest kid in their year and always helped everyone do their homework. Sometimes she even went as far as to tell everyone the answers. She was always frantic about her own work, but once completed, was laid back about others copying it. It was a combination that her friends loved, particularly Yessir, who looked up to Ashley and often went to her for advice. He looked down to check his wrist, before noticing he wasn't wearing his watch.

"How long 'til we get there?" he asked, standing up shakily and peering over the horizon. The truck bounced in a pothole, and he fell on top of Sammi Adkins, making her shriek. Harry winced at the high-pitched noise. Sammi was cute friend of Candi's – loud and ditzy, a typical prep girl of their high school, who cared more about her nails and makeup than her grades. She was determined she was going to be a model, anyway. Harry knew Red had a huge crush on her, but wasn't certain if Sammi returned the affection.

"Yessir!" she cried, yelping in pain and trying to push him off. Cedric sighed and dragged Yessir off Sammi, earning him a look of adoration from her. He was the leader of the group, despite being black, and got along with everyone. Confident and strong-willed, he never rose to anger, despite all the racist comments thrown at him, occasionally by Danny. He had the same coloured hair as Harry, but it was much shorter. Once he had moved Yessir out of the way, he sat back and shut his brown eyes, whilst William scorned their clumsy friend.

"You need to watch what you're doing, you klutz," William Downing said, pushing Yessir back over to Ashley. Sammi straighten her bright blonde hair out of her blue eyes, and then glared at Yessir. Red often joked that she was the female version of Yessir, and therefore a dork. In reality, as a pretty, popular cheerleader, she was anything but.

"The way Harry's driving, we're never going to get there," William grumbled, his pessimistic nature showing through. The only reason he was here was because he was best friends with Cedric. Not many people liked his gloomy outlook on life, as it made him a bit of an outcast, but Cedric and William seemed to apply to 'opposites attract' rule, and could always be found together, laughing and joking. William was fiercely protective of Cedric, getting into fights whenever someone made a remark about the colour of his friend's skin.

Ashley tucked her own mousey-blonde hair out of her grey eyes, and then continued to show Yessir what she was planning to do for the assignment. Marie Dougherty sighed, and then pulled out a cigarette, before feeling for a lighter. She was a scrawny girl, and not the most popular of people. She could be mean when she felt like it, and often made fun of Ashley's intellect. However, she was also loyal and stood up for her friends in a fight, even Ashley. Harry didn't know much about her – nobody did – but everyone noticed the dark bruises on her face and body that she frequently came into school with. Candi had asked her about it once, and Marie had nearly bitten her head off in return. Her watery blue eyes widened now in horror as she realised she'd forgotten her lighter, and she put a hand to her greasy brown hair in dismay.

"Anyone got a light?" she asked, and everyone shook their heads, causing Marie to groan. Suddenly a quiet little voice piped up near the back.

"I've got one," Brit said shyly, pulling the cheap, green, plastic lighter from her pocket and handing it to Marie.

"Thanks, Brit!" Marie said, snatching up the lighter and putting the flame close to the cigarette in her mouth. It lit, and she drew on it heavily, before blowing a smoke cloud into the air. She then grinned at Brit gratefully, before handing her back the lighter.

Brit was a strange, but likeable person in Harry's eyes. Her real name was Annabel Slater, but as she'd recently moved from Britain, and still retained her English accent, soon everyone knew her as Brit. When she'd first come to the school, she'd introduced herself as Annabel but everyone had called her Anna. Pretty soon the bullies had closed in on her, mocking her for her accent, and it wasn't until she ran smack into Harry whilst trying to get away from some of the more spiteful girls, did they stop. Harry had chased them off, and introduced her to the others. They all liked her sweet nature, and she quickly became one of them, earning protection.

She seemed to have taken a shine to Danny, who, sadly, completely ignored her existence. She gazed at him for a second, and then blushed and turned away when he looked up at her, scowling.

Harry's thoughts were cut short when Candi brought him sharply back down to earth.

"Look out!" she screamed as a dark figure ran out into the road. Harry yanked the steering wheel quickly to the right, and the truck flew off the road and into a wheat-field. For a few moments all that they could see was wheat, and then there was an almighty crash as they hit a metal object. Harry cursed and jumped out of the truck to inspect the damage whilst the others were still dazed in the truck.

Cedric was the first to join Harry, and whistled at the crumpled end of the truck.

"My parents are going to kill me!" he wailed, crouching down, his head in his hands.

"Don't worry, babe," Candi said softly, touching the top of his head gently, her face white and still in shock. "I'm sure they'll understand."

Harry shook his head. He was sure glad that Candi was his girl. She always tried to make light of a difficult situation.

"Hey," Danny called to them, inspecting the metal object they had drove into, "you might want to look at this."

The twelve clustered around the large metal disc on the floor, with a turning handle on top.

"What is it?" Sammi asked.

"A door, obviously," William said, shaking his head at what was, in his opinion, her stupidity. Danny grasped the handle.

"What are you doing?" Marie said sharply.

"Opening it," Danny replied coldly. "What's the point of a door if you don't?"

No one said anything for a moment, and then William shrugged and began helping him move it.

"The front of my truck has been crushed, and all you care about is opening some damn door?" Harry exclaimed, his temper rising. Cedric grinned at him, and then began wrestling with the door too.

"Come on, man," he said, noting Harry's scowl, "you can't say you're not even the slightest bit curious?"

Sighing, and knowing Cedric was right, Harry joined in, along with Yessir, Gary, Joe and Red. The door wheel remained stiff for a moment, and then spun round with ease when all the boys forced it. They pushed the door open, and then peered down into the darkness. There was a pause, and then Danny climbed up onto the edge, before making his way down the steel ladder. Gary grabbed his arm.

"We don't know what's down there!" he hissed, his twin nodding. Danny looked at them both scathingly.

"So? Makes everything more fun."

He shook off Gary, and then continued down. Everyone looked at Cedric expectantly, waiting for his instructions.

"We can't leave him on his own," Cedric said, making them all look nervously at the hole, "and anyway, I want to know what a hole is doing in the middle of a field next to an old farm-house."

Without another word, Cedric checked his shotgun was still on his back, and then followed Danny down into the black. William shrugged, and then did likewise. One by one, all the boys disappeared, with the exception of Harry, leaving the girls and him alone. Ashley watched as Yessir, the last go, climbed down, wishing he wouldn't.

There was a long silence, which was finally broke by Marie.

"I need some excitement in my life," she drawled, flicking the cigarette stub onto the ground, before grinding it under the heel of her boot. In one swift movement she had jumped up onto the metal barrier of the door, and then slid down into its depths. The remaining teenagers glanced at each other, before Sammi moved towards the void.

"I'm following Cedric!" she said shrilly, her voice betraying her secret feelings of panic. Ashley followed her, her inquisitive nature getting the better of her. Brit smiled shyly at Harry and Candi, and then quickly scurried along after her friends.

Harry sighed.

"I suppose we best go after them," he grumbled.

"Don't worry," Candi replied soothingly, "I'm sure there's nothing dangerous down there."

* * *

Danny ran down the corridor, his heart pounding frantically against his chest. He could hear the shrieks behind him, getting closer every second. He reached the ladder just as a computerised voice sounded above him.

"_Manual Lockdown activated, manual Lockdown activated_."

The door he had just come through shut with a loud clang, sealing the danger away from him for good. He slumped to the floor, nearly sobbing, and remained there for an age, unable to believe the events that had just passed.

Suddenly a loud banging noise hit the door, making Danny jump. There was another thud, and then a desperate scream.

"Help me! Oh, God, help me! For fuck's sake, get me the fuck out of here, get me out, get me out, get me-!"

Danny recognised the voice as it was cut off. It was Brit. He listened as the things growled and screeched, drowning out her frantic screams. There was another crash as something hit the door, and then silence. Not wanting to hear any more, Danny scrambled out up the ladder. He hoped the others had made it, that they were waiting for him by the truck. Danny pulled himself up into the setting sun, and felt his heart sink. The truck was still there, the keys in the ignition, but there was no one else around. The others had been caught in the Lockdown.

He was the only survivor.

* * *

"Do you really expect us to believe that you are innocent?" the cop growled threateningly, leaning menacingly towards him. "That _twelve_ teenagers disappear without a trace whilst you were with them? From what I've heard, you're a loner; you had no real reason to be friends with those people-"

"I didn't kill them, so get out of my face!" Danny yelled, his temper snapping completely. The cop hit him across the cheek, sending him back into his chair.

"Shut your mouth, boy," he hissed, "I'm going to make sure you go on death row as soon as I get the evidence!"

The cop stormed out of the office, and the other cops hauled him to the cells.

However, Danny never was put on death row. The report was filed, but when the government learnt where the incident had taken place and what circumstances Danny had claimed they were under, he was instantly declared insane, and then put in a mental institution for life.

Little did Danny know, the nightmare would continue, thirty years later.

_

* * *

_

_Author's notes: Credit goes to Silent Memento for the characters Cedric, Ashley, Yessir, Sammi, Marie and William. And for the basic idea for this story. The plot is mine, the idea is his. My summary sucks._


End file.
